Robotic systems are commonly used in the manufacture of automobiles and other devices. Such systems commonly employ stationary, single-task robots that are designed to perform the same task, repeatedly, on a plurality of parts moving through an assembly line. Such systems are not readily scalable to industries involving larger assemblies, such as in the aerospace industry, due to the size of the parts and assemblies. Robotic systems used in aerospace manufacturing require large, expensive, support fixtures in order to fix tools, the apparatus, and the robot in space. Such support fixtures often include intricate cabling in order to provide power to the robotic systems, and also are often bolted in place, resulting in a very static system. These fixtures are required in order to ensure proper alignment of the robot with respect to the apparatus, and accurate performance of the task depends on the apparatus being located in space where the robot expects it to be located. The required tolerances in aerospace applications often are much smaller than in automobile applications, making the use of robotic systems even more challenging.
Furthermore, aerospace manufacturing processes often are performed in very large, open environments, which may be subject to variations due to vibrations and environmental factors (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.). In addition, variations caused by wear or kinematic variation due to physical constraints can also be contributors to location uncertainties. This can include any motion control machine tool, robot, and/or end effector. Current motion control systems and automated robotic systems, due to their fixed nature, are not easily able to adapt to account for such variations.